Fruits and vegetables are necessary for a balanced diet and good health. But in fact, they are gradually disappearing from the French plates. In question ? An increase in prices which is not slowing and which makes the famous nutritional recommendation of five fruits and vegetables per day financially complicated to follow.
Last June, the consumer defense association Rural Families did the math: eating five fruits and vegetables per month, as recommended by the National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS), can cost up to 241 euros per month for a family. . In the current context of inflation, the price of a typical basket had in fact increased 3.5 times more than consumer prices, all categories combined. Nearly six months after this analysis, and even if we are talking more and more about deflation, following this nutritional advice turns out to be complicated for 19% of French people who consider this consumption as a luxury, according to an OpinionWay/ study. Starway which has just been released. A third of young people aged 25 to 34 particularly share this opinion.
In total, the French spend on average 79 euros monthly to eat clementines, cauliflowers and other leeks. But it is only an average which brings together many disparities among consumer profiles. Thus, those aged 65 and over spend 108 euros, compared to 46 euros for the youngest. Fruits and vegetables have become less accessible foods, in the opinion of 53% of French people who have reduced their purchases for at least one form of consumption including bulk, frozen, packaged or canned. Price is designated as the first element that encourages consumers to spend more in this type of department (61% compared to 31% for the origin of the products).
If the French have changed their purchasing habits to cope with the economic situation, by preferring the economic equivalent of a product from a major brand for example, the fight against food waste has proven to be the first weapon against -inflation. A strategy revealed last September by a report by panelist NielseniQ. Except that in the case of fruits and vegetables, these would be the exception confirming the rule. 49% of French people say they have already thrown away apples, pears or any other vegetables because they had been eaten and no longer looked very fresh. And surprisingly, 59% have already consumed products that looked expired…
Remember that inflation has slowed in recent weeks with regard to fresh products, whose prices increased by “only” +1.1% last October (+7.8% for the entire ‘food). Except that fruits and vegetables continue to resist, in view of the INSEE analysis which revealed last September an annual increase of +3.2% for vegetables, +4.2% for fruits and +20.4% for fresh or preserved potatoes.
Slide: November: seasonal fruits, vegetables and fish
This study was carried out on November 8 and 9, 2023, with a sample of 1004 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over.
